Stubby Pringle's Christmas

by Jack Schaefer

Here is a story perfect for reading aloud when the family is gathered together at Christmastime. Its setting may not be traditional, nor is Stubby Pringle, the patched-clothes cowhand on his way to whoop it up at a Christmas Eve dance, a likely hero for a Christmas story. But what happens to Stubby on this particular Christmas Eve will touch a responsive chord in any listener's heart and leave young and old alike a little richer and more filled with the spirit of Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Westerns, Fiction

Hardcover

First published December 1, 1963

About the author

Schaefer was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of an attorney. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1929 with a major in English. He attended graduate school at Columbia University from 1929-30, but left without completing his Master of Arts degree. He then went to work for the United Press. In his long career as a journalist, he would hold editorial positions at many eastern publications.

Schaefer's first success as a novelist came in 1949 with his memorable novel Shane, set in Wyoming. Few realized that Schaefer himself had never been anywhere near the west. Nevertheless, he continued writing successful westerns, selling his home in Connecticut and moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1955.

In 1975 Schaefer received the Western Literature Association's Distinguished Achievement award.

He died of heart failure in Santa Fe in 1991. Schaefer was married twice, his second wife moving to Santa Fe with him.

Schaefer's novel Monte Walsh was made into a movie in 1970, with Lee Marvin in the title role, and again in 2003 as a TV movie starring Tom Selleck. Shane was also made into a movie and a series.

from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Sch...

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slumped in the saddle is Stubby Pringle, head down, shoulders sagged. He is just another of far-scattered poorly paid patched-clothes cowhands who inhabit these parts. Just that. And something more. He is the biggest thing there is in the whole wide roster of the human race. He is a man who has given of himself, of what little he has and is, to bring smiles and joy of living to others along his way.

'Tis the night before Christmas, and Stubby Pringle sets off for the dance at the schoolhouse. His saddlebag holds some trinkets and a box of tasty chocolates to soften the affections of whichever female of the right vintage among those at the schoolhouse appeals to him most and seems most susceptible. But, sometimes life gets in the way, and what happens next brings a tear to my cynical jaded eye every time I read this.

Here's a marvelous old story by the writer of Shane. I first discovered it last year when I read Christmas Out West, and I plan to read it every Christmas Eve for the rest of my life.

Well done, Stubby Pringle, riding along out there on your flop-eared ewe-necked cat-hipped roan.

Well done, indeed.

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short Christmas story for Red, Dead Redemption fans.. or, at least, for players who max out their Reputation points on the positive end of the register.

[Asher Huskinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas Eve family tradition.

[Maura B-C · Rating 5 out of 5]

always and forever the best

(cullinane family christmas tradition for the ages)

[Cole Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become one of my all-time favorite stories to re-read every Christmas. I love Jack Schaefer's voice here, and was a bit disappointed when I picked up "Shane" later on and discovered Schaefer didn't use the same narration style in that book that he does here. I go back and forth between whether the ending is unbearably cheesy or makes the whole thing all the more endearing, but I suppose if read aloud to children, the finale would simply add to the wonder and holiday cheer.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style took some getting used to, but it grew on me. The message of the story was touching and I came to like Stubby Pringle. I didn't care as much for the part at the end where he supposedly saw and heard Santa. But the rest was good.

[Michael Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Christmas/Cowboy stories. By the author who also wrote "Shane." This is a heartwarming story of a cowboy's Christmas eve in Montana in the early 1900s. The story has also been made into a Hallmark movie available on Amazon. While on his way at night 20 miles to a town for a Christmas party, Stubby stops at a homesteader's house to chop firewood for a woman whose husband is too ill to help her. And so begins a story of kindness and Christmas spirit that we all need to show our grandchildren.

[Breanna Maughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written in a dialect that was hard to read. It was a short read, so it wasn't drawn out. The story was written a long time ago, some of the topics mentioned in this book were acceptable at that time but could be viewed as discriminatory now. The overall story was good but it was not my cup of tea.

[Charles N. Sheppard · Rating 1 out of 5]

MUCH too high a cost for a SHORT story.

Considering this author’s other books (including Shane), this book was oddly structured and amateurish. I was appalled when I finished it in a few minutes, at a cost of almost $10.00. Really?? Come on, Amazon, we expect some pricing fairness!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet Christmas short story. I love these old times vibes.

[Cora Mabry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholesome story with a really unique writing style and a flair of Christmas magic.

🎄🎅🏻🍫

[Kenya Starflight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this story in an old copy of Boy's Life magazine, and later as a hardbound copy at the library. Both times I remember loving it -- it's a slightly unconventional but delightful Christmas story, one with a solid message about generosity that doesn't beat you over the head with it and with a tough but lyrical writing style.

Stubby Pringle is a cowhand taking a break from his ranch duties to ride down to the valley schoolhouse for a Christmas dance. He plans to dance the night away and woo a lady... but his plans change when he rides past the house of a poor homesteader family who's too destitute to even have a Christmas tree. Stubby decides there's no harm in staying to cut down a tree and give the family something to look forward to in the morning... and what happens next is a labor of love that will completely change his night and his life.

The writing style of this story takes some getting used to. It drops connective words here and there and adapts a more conversational, slang-ish tone than one would expect, and it's filled to the brim with vivid descriptive imagery straight out of a cowboy novel. It's aiming more for poetic than one would expect from a cowboy story, albeit a hard-bitten and casual poetic tone. But it somehow works for this kind of story, and the words have a rough lyricism that charmed me as I read.

The story itself is a simple one about a good deed done on Christmas Eve, but for the holidays a simple story works nicely. And it's a testament to how one simple act can change lives forever... and how sometimes a change in plans doesn't mean one's day/night has to be ruined. The ending may be a little cheesy, but honestly we could all use a little corniness around the holidays.

Stubby Pringle's Christmas is a sweet story under its prickly, hard-bitten, cowboy-slang-filled exterior, and it's well worth a read. I know I plan to read it every Christmas...

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this short story in an anthology of Christmas stories years ago and fell in love with it immediately. Stubby Pringle pops out of the pages as a sympathetic, unlikely hero. I've read this to my kids at home, and even publically to adult groups. It is a wonderful story by one of America's best Western authors (who also wrote SHANE). You'll end up loving this hardworking, soft-hearted young cowboy. A well-written story that will also help chase away that spirit of "give me -- give me!" that often shows up during the holidays. I just found that there was also a 1978 Hallmark TV movie based on this story, with Beau Bridges in the central role.